OUAGADOUGOU - Lt. Col. Paul-Henri Sandaogo Damiba, who has led the junta ruling the country since the January coup, officially resigned on Sunday after the military assured his security, according to a statement released by religious and community leaders acting as mediators.
The resignation appeared to end two days of tensions in the capital, Ouagadougou, between factions loyal to Colonel Damiba and the man who has now replaced him, Capt. Ibrahim Traoré.
Captain Traoré was designated as president until a transitional leader could be named, according to a statement read on national television.
Regional mediators were headed to Burkina Faso on Monday in the wake of the West African country's second coup this year amid concern the latest power grab could further postpone elections and deepen the region's Islamic extremist violence.
News that the delegation from the regional bloc known as ECOWAS is traveling to the capital, Ouagadougou, came after diplomats confirmed that Lt. Col. Paul Henri Sandaogo Damiba had left for the neighbouring nation of Togo following talks mediated by religious leaders.
Burkina Faso's new leader, Capt. Ibrahim Traore, 34, is officially head of state pending future elections, the junta announced Sunday. While ECOWAS, a 15-nation West African bloc, had reached an agreement to hold a new vote by July 2024, it remained unclear whether that date would still hold.
